(CNN) — After eight months of grueling competition, only two teams remain of the 30 that make up the NBA.
The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks are the last teams standing and will meet in the 2024 NBA Finals, which begin Thursday at TD Garden, for a chance to etch their names in the history books.
How to see it?
The NBA Finals will be broadcast exclusively on ABC in the United States.
In Mexico and South America, ESPN and Star+ will broadcast the games.
In the UK, BBC One and TNT Sports will broadcast the Finals, but international fans will also be able to watch the best-of-seven series via NBA League Pass.
The invincible Celtics?
With 64 wins, the Celtics were by far the most dominant team throughout the regular season and have continued that impressive streak into the postseason, losing just two games in the entire playoffs.
However, those victories come with the slight caveat that the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers were without key players – Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell and Tyrese Haliburton, respectively – for all or part of those series.
In any case, the Celtics have played their games extremely efficiently this postseason and hope that Joe Mazzulla, their second-year coach, can finally lead the team to the top.
The Celtics have achieved incredible consistency in the playoffs in recent seasons. This is the sixth time in eight years that the franchise has reached at least the Conference Finals and the second time in three years that Boston has reached the Finals. However, the coveted Larry O’Brien trophy has eluded them until now.
A victory in this year’s Finals would give the Celtics their record 18th NBA title and move them ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers as the league’s most successful franchise.
Jayson Tatum is heading to his second Finals. (Credit: Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Critics and rivals have sometimes called the Celtics a weak spot, with key players or the team as a whole struggling in the most important moments; Both last year’s surprising loss to the No. 8 seed Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals and Jayson Tatum’s performance in the 2022 NBA Finals are examples of these concerns.
“There’s a lot that we and I can learn from that experience, from being in the Finals,” Tatum told reporters. “This round is very different. Obviously, we’ve been there before and we came up short. It’s a great opportunity to get back to the Finals, you don’t always get a second chance.”
“I see it as a second chance, trying to simplify things as much as we can. It’s another series we have to win.
“Have nine days of rest [antes de las Finales] It’s good for your body and for everyone to get healthy, but we’re in the NBA Finals and we’re all very anxious and excited to play. “I wish it started a little earlier so we could go for it, but we have a lot of guys who have been here before and we understand the magnitude of this moment and we say we are ready, fresh and prepared.”
But the team showed impressive mettle this postseason, particularly in the Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. Three times in that series, the Celtics found themselves down on the scoreboard, but turned around each game to win in back-to-back games, thanks in large part to series MVP Jaylen Brown.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Pacers had at least a 90% chance of winning during the fourth quarters of Games 1, 3 and 4.
Jaylen Brown was voted MVP of the Eastern Conference. (Credit: Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Can Luka emulate Dirk?
While the Celtics have been on a roll since day one, the Dallas Mavericks transformed their season leading up to the February trade deadline.
The addition of the bigger, longer Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington perfectly complemented the superstar backcourt of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, who have taken turns carrying the team throughout this tie.
For his part, Dereck Lively II is capping an impressive rookie season and became a valuable rotation piece for the Mavericks in this playoff phase, while Derrick Jones Jr. grew as a player and scored big baskets in the postseason.
Although Dončić, third in the MVP voting, continues to perform at a high level, a knee injury has prevented him from reaching the level of the regular season, so much of Dallas’ success will depend on the Slovenian’s form.
Coach Jason Kidd could further cement his place in Mavericks history by leading the team to the title. It’s been 13 years since Kidd helped the franchise capture its first and only Larry O’Brien Trophy as a player, assisting Dirk Nowitzki in a stunning Finals victory over the Miami Heat.
Kyrie Irving has carried the Mavericks at times while Dončić battles injuries. (Credit: David Berding/Getty Images)
“It was a hard road to come back here [las Finales]”Irving told reporters. “So I’m just appreciating all the little steps that he took, appreciating all the people that helped me grow. “It has been a great period of reflection these last two days, thinking not only about the last few years, but about what we have been able to do this year in such a short period of time.”
“How we push the city of Dallas and our fans, and it’s like we have everyone supporting us throughout this effort, so I’m grateful and appreciate everything I’ve had to go through and everything my teammates they had to go through to get here with me.”
Complete calendar
– Game 1: Mavericks vs. Celtics, June 6 – 8:30 pm ET
– Game 2: Mavericks vs. Celtics, June 9 – 8:00 pm ET
– Game 3: Celtics vs. Mavericks, June 12 – 8:30 pm ET
– Game 4: Celtics vs. Mavericks, June 14 – 8:30 pm ET
– *Game 5: Mavericks vs. Celtics, June 17 – 8:30 pm ET
– *Game 6: Celtics vs. Mavericks, June 20 – 8:30 pm ET
– *Game 7: Mavericks vs. Celtics, June 23 – 8:00 pm ET
*If necessary
